Hong Kong court tasked to name administrators of Stanley Ho’s estate after family members fail to reach agreement

A Hong Kong court has been asked to name the administrators of late gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun’s vast and complex multibillion-dollar estate after his surviving children and grandchildren failed to reach an agreement.

Ho, who was counted as one of Asia’s richest men while he ran the continent’s largest casino empire for half a century, died without leaving a will on May 26 last year at the age of 98, survived by three of his four wives and 15 of his 17 children.

But the exact size of his estate remains unclear, with estimates ranging from “at least HK$1.72 billion (US$220.6 million)” as put forward by his fifth child Pansy Ho Chiu-king, to HK$11 billion according to his eldest surviving child Angela Ho Chiu-yin, and HK$50 billion at the time of his retirement in 2018.

On Tuesday, the High Court heard that Ho’s surviving children and grandchildren were divided between two proposals on the appointment of the administrators, who are expected to ascertain the size of the estate, as well as the rights and liabilities involved, among other tasks.

One proposal was to appoint KPMG’s global head of restructuring Patrick Cowley and partner Rosalie Lui Yee-man. This was agreed on by the second, third and fourth branches of the family, with three members of the first family having no objections.

The alternative, which was tabled by Angela and supported by her niece Ringo Siu – both from the first family – was to further engage Tiffany Wong Wing-sze and Edward Simon Middleton, both managing directors of consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal Asia. Siu is the daughter of Angela’s late elder sister, Jane Francis Ho.

Paul Shieh Wing-tai SC, representing Pansy – the eldest child of Ho’s second wife – said it had not been easy for her to coordinate efforts for all family members to agree on a proposal and reach a consensus on the appropriate candidates.